The Metropolitan Police Department found April 6 Clayton Matthew Morris, 49, suffering from an apparent gunshot wound on the 1500 block of T Street, SE. He was pronounced dead on the scene.
Document: Suspect arrested in connection with Tamiya White’s homicide
Members of the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force (CARFTF) arrested April 5 Robert Wilson Dean, Jr., 60, for allegedly fatally stabbing 38-year-old Tamiya White on the 1900 block of 9th Street, NE.
Murder suspect’s defense team argues bad faith
The defense team in a murder case said the prosecution was acting in bad faith during a trial readiness hearing on April 5.
Donald Hairston‘s defense attorneys, Mani Golzari and Lauren Johnson, said the prosecution acted in bad faith when they withheld information of one of the witnesses in the case making a large financial gain from the murder of Stephanie Goodloe, 40, on June 18, 2016.
The gain was made through the use of a GoFundMe page for the victim. The page was ultimately shut down because of a fraudulent credit card transaction of $9,000.
According to Golzari, the prosecution has no system for sharing information. However, the prosecution refuted the statement, saying that there is a system in place for sharing information.
Judge Danya Dayson requested that both parties send her written information. For the prosecution, she requested to know about what systems are in place to share information and how those systems were followed. For the defense, the judge requested to know where counsel was regarding the investigation into the GoFundMe fraud.
Hairston is charged with first-degree murder.
The defense’s motion to dismiss the case was held pending further argument. Another trial readiness hearing is scheduled for April 10. The trial is scheduled for April 17.
Cellmate says Minor admitted to planning murder
A cellmate of Joseph Minor testified April 5 that Minor told him that he allegedly planned to murder Gregory Lee on Christmas Eve.
According to a cellmate, Minor, 27, said he planned to kill Lee with his friend, Maurice Blakey, 26, and asked for advice on his defense. The cellmate said Minor told him that he wanted to provide the jury with information that would show innocence rather than guilt.
Lee was pronounced dead on the 1200 block of Stevens Road, SE on Dec. 24, 2014.
Additionally, the cellmate said Minor told him that he attempted to rob Lee about a week before to the shooting, but was unsuccessful. The cellmate said Minor heard rumors Lee was planning to retaliate and wanted to act, first.
The cellmate also told the jury that Minor said he dismantled the handgun he used to kill Lee and hid pieces of the gun in a friend’s residence.
Minor’s lawyer, Archie Nichols, said the cellmate was testifying under an agreement that if he told the truth, the prosecution would recommend he receive a shorter sentence for a second-degree murder while armed conviction in an unrelated homicide that occurred in June of 2013. Additionally, the cellmate testified in five other court cases in cooperation with prosecutors, which shows his only concern is getting out of jail, Nichols said.
According to the medical examiner who conducted Lee’s autopsy, there were three gunshot wounds, including a fatal wound that hit Lee’s right rib cage, heart and both lungs.
Blakey is currently serving an unrelated 22-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to second-degree murder for the homicide of Timothy Spicer in 2007. Blakey’s charges for Lee’s homicide were dismissed as part of a plea deal.
Minor has been charged with second-degree murder while armed.
The trial is expected to continue on April 9.
Decedent’s friend says he lied to police about homicide
Gregory Lee‘s friend testified April 4 that he lied to the Metropolitan Police Department when he said he only heard gunshots on the night of the homicide.
Instead, the friend told the jury he was hanging out with Lee, 28, while he was conducting a drug run, but the two men were confronted in a neighborhood alley by Joseph Minor, who was 24 at the time, and Maurice Blakey, who was 23 at the time. He said Blakey shot at him but missed. The friend allegedly fled the scene.
The friend said he didn’t call 911 despite seeing Minor shoot Lee. He said he was nervous and didn’t want to be a “snitch.” The friend also said he was smoking marijuana and drinking tequila before the altercation.
Blakey is currently serving an unrelated 22-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to second-degree murder for the homicide of Timothy Spicer in 2007. Blakey’s charges for Lee’s homicide were dismissed as part of a plea deal.
Lee was pronounced dead on the 1200 block of Stevens Road, SE on Dec. 24, 2014.
The trial is expected to continue on April 5.
Judge orders another eval of murder suspect’s competency
Judge Judith Bartnoff ruled April 4 that murder suspect Deangelo Thorne must undergo further competency evaluation and treatment.
Doctors who evaluated Thorne said he was not competent to stand trial at this time, but has the capacity to regain competency. Psychiatrists recommended Thorne return to the hospital for another month.
Thorne, 28, allegedly stabbed and killed 23-year-old Waliyatou Amadou on Jan. 8, 2017, on the 1400 block of W Street, NW. Prosecutors say video footage and a GPS tracking device placed Thorne at the scene of Amadou’s stabbing. Amadou was taken to a local hospital where she died from her injuries.
Thorne is charged with first-degree murder while armed. He is scheduled for a mental observation hearing on May 11.
Document: mother indicted on death of 16-month-old child
The U.S. Attorney indicted April 4 Faneshia Scott, 28, on murder and other charges in the death of her 16-month-old daughter Rhythm Fields. Scott also faces charges of first-degree cruelty to children.
D.C. Homicide Breakdown
D.C. Witness data shows the 14 percent decline in D.C. homicides from 2016-2017, previously reported by D.C. officials, did not accurately account for the total homicides in the city during those years.
According to D.C. Witness data, there have been 135 homicides in D.C. in 2016 and 123 homicides for 2017.
D.C. Witness data shows an 8 percent decrease in homicides city-wide. In addition, D.C. Witness data shows that Ward 8 homicides increased by 8 percent during the same timespan.
Click here to see the number of homicides by ward.
Prosecution delivers opening for 2014 Christmas Eve shooting
Assistant United States Attorney Lindsey Merikas said Minor, who was 24 at the time, shot Lee, 28, because he was “agitated” and had a “bruised ego.” Lee died on the 1200 block of Stevens Road, SE on Dec. 24, 2014.
The men previously got into an argument at a neighborhood event honoring Minor’s brother, who had died.
Merikas said that Minor and Maurice Blakey, 26, were the aggressors in a neighborhood alley on the night of the altercation. Minor allegedly shot Lee with a handgun, while Blakey allegedly shot at Lee’s friend with a shotgun. The friend fled the scene without any injuries.
Blakey is currently serving an unrelated 22-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to second-degree murder for the homicide of Timothy Spicer in 2007. As part of a plea deal, Blakey’s charges for Lee’s homicide were dismissed.
The prosecution said DNA evidence and witness testimony will leave the jury with no choice but to find Minor guilty.
Merikas also said the prosecution plans to call one of Minor’s cellmates who would testify that Minor admitted to the murder. “This is a case where you’re going to have to rely on people,” she said.
Additionally, both Minor’s grandmother and girlfriend, who both lived in the neighborhood, said they heard five gunshots on the night Minor died, but did not actually witness the shooting.
Minor’s defense attorney, Archie Nichols, said he will not present his opening statement until the defense begins their case.
The trial is expected to resume on April 4.
Counsel delivers closing arguments in 2014 murder trial
Desperation stood out as a key aspect in both the prosecution and defense’s closing arguments during a 2014 murder trial.
On April 3, three weeks after the trial started, the jury began to deliberate on evidence provided in the alleged shooting of Willard Carlos Shelton on Aug. 31, 2014, on the 2500 block of Pomeroy Road, SE.
According to the prosecution, Tyrone “Michael” Height and James Young were desperate because they got caught by several eyewitnesses and a GPS tracking device.
The prosecution said that not only were there witnesses who saw and identified both men shooting Shelton, 38, but there was also recorded conversations of Young, 25, threatening the life of one of those witnesses. In addition, a GPS monitoring device put Height, 25, at the scene of the murder; Height was seen with a .40 caliber gun — the murder weapon — a day after he murder; and a letter from Young to a judge stated the motive — burglary.
The prosecution also told the jury that Young’s confession of being in a shooting spat with Shelton didn’t make sense because the Metropolitan Police Department only found two revolver shell casings. Police did not find any ballistics evidence from the revolver on the scene, but they found 13 casings from the .40 caliber gun.
The prosecution said that Young’s actions weren’t indicative of being attacked, but of robbing Shelton. The prosecution told the jury to discredit Young’s testimony, pointing suspicion at Young’s statement of retrieving the revolver from Shelton’s pocket after the two were shooting at each other.
The defense argued against the prosecution’s assertion of desperation from guilt by saying the prosecution was desperate in trying to place guilt on the defendants. The defense said the evidence presented during the trial does not show, without reasonable doubt, that Young or Height maliciously killed Shelton.
According to the defense, the prosecution was desperate enough to present witnesses who admitted to initially lying about the shooting; insinuate Height told a fellow inmate to lie, even though there was no proof; rely on testimony from a person who, at the time of the incident, was under the influence of a narcotic and testimony from a person with a questionable mental state; and provide evidence that was inconsistent with the testimonies.
The prosecution asks “why is the defense so desperate? But, why is the government so desperate,” Young’s attorney Joseph Caleb said.
At the center of the shooting was PCP, a drug used as a veterinary anesthetic that has hallucinogenic components. According to counsel, both Shelton and Young used and sold the product.
An expert witness told the jury that users could experience fits of range or become lethargic while under the influence of PCP.
Young said Shelton was a violent man and attacked him. He said he shot Shelton in self defense. Young’s testimony of Shelton’s demeanor was corroborated by Shelton’s friend who said the decedent tased him for no reason the day before.
Both men are being charged with first-degree premeditated murder, first-degree felony murder, robbery while armed, burglary while armed, tampering with evidence, unlawful possession of a firearm, obstruction of justice and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence.
Preliminary hearing set for stabbing suspect
The man accused of fatally stabbing 52-year-old Andre Butler is scheduled to have a preliminary hearing on March 22.
Fredrick Lorenzo Nowlin, Jr., 35, was charged with second-degree murder while armed. The stabbing occurred on the 900 Block of Mount Olivet Road, NE. Butler was pronounced dead at a local hospital.
Assistant United States Attorney Damien Diggs requested the hearing be pushed to April 9, but Nowlin asserted his right to have a preliminary hearing within 14 days of being charged with the crime.
Diggs said that another prosecutor may be present at the hearing since he has other matters on his calendar.
Police arrest suspect in 1-year-old’s homicide
On April 3, the Metropolitan Police Department arrested 28 year-old Faneshia Scott for the alleged murder of 1-year-old Rhythm Fields. Fields died from blunt force trauma on Jan. 29.
Scott is charged with first-degree murder.
Trial date set for man accused of killing girlfriend
The man charged with fatally shooting Yolanda Stone is scheduled for a new trial date.
Along with the new date on Jan. 28, 2019, attorney Joseph Caleb also joined Cook’s defense team as co-counsel.
Reynaud Cook, 34, is charged with first-degree murder while armed for shooting his girlfriend on the 3300 block of Alden Place, NE on Feb. 15. 2012.
Members of the Metropolitan Police Department found Stone, 30, suffering from apparent gunshot wounds. Stone died three months later on May 20, 2012 at a local hospital.
Cook was arrested in Pennsylvania on May 10, 2013, for unrelated charges. Two weeks later, he was transferred to D.C. and charged with Stone’s murder.
Prosecutors said Cook shot Stone in front of their children. He is also charged with first-degree cruelty to children, second-degree cruelty to children, weapons offenses and contempt of court for violating a civil protection order.
Cook was also found guilty of second-degree murder while armed in July 2017, along with Don Hancock, for the July 2007 homicide of Nacarto Gladden.
A status hearing is scheduled for July 13.
Document: Congress St. SE homicide
On March 31, members of the Metropolitan Police Department found Jamar Bowman, 29, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds on the 700 block of Congress Street, SE. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital.
Police are currently investigating the homicide. A reward is being offered for information that leads to an arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for any homicide committed in D.C.
Document: 9th Street NE homicide
On March 31, the Metropolitan Police Department found Tamiya White, 38, suffering from an apparent stab wound on the 1900 block of 9th Street, NE. She was pronounced dead at a local hospital.
Police are currently investigating the death.